The Forbidden Forest
by Ella Hollywood
Summary: What was Sirius like back when he attended Hogwarts? A one shot of him and a girl in his potions class. Semi-fluffy. After all, he was a teenage boy...


Ashley shivered as a cold June wind whistled through the trees, the setting sun throwing dark shadows off the castles walls. As clouds rolled over the sky the potions garden's lights flickered on, illuminating the colorful plants. "We've got everything, let's go."

"I'm just looking for something," replied her project partner, his voice coming from behind the trunk of one of the enormous trees. "And why are you so anxious? We have all night to work on our project."

"Alone the commons room." She said dryly. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

She could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "You know me so well."

Sirius suddenly appeared atop one of the giant tree roots, his eyes dancing playfully. _ The breeze rustled his hair as he watched her glance up at the oncoming storm. "Nervous?"_

_"It's not called the forbidden forest just because Hogwarts has a fancy for alliteration."_

_"'Fancy'?" He mocked, doing his best imitation of an American accent as he turned back around. "After five years of being in the same classes I'm finally rubbing off on you!"_

_Ashley stalked after him as he disappeared into the trees again. "Let's just go-it's going to start raining soon."_

_"Oh pish posh," He waved his hand dismissively as he pushed through a wall of branches. "Live a little."_

_"No, Sirius-." He let go of a branch and it swung back, smacking her in the face and filling her mouth with pine needles. She spit them out, untangling herself. When she finally caught up to him he was clearing away some twisting vines, taking out his wand. Ashley stopped dead in her tracks as she saw what they were covering, her eyes narrowing at the wrought iron gate he was examining._

_"Found it…" He smiled deviously, aiming his wand. "Alohomora."_

_With the flick of Sirius's wrist the gate swung free of its lock, opening them up to one of the wizarding world's most notorious forests. Ashley stared, mouth agape as he poked it open, sticking his head through. "You'd think they'd charm it better, considering we learn simple spells like that in first year."_

_"Lock it back up." She commanded, crossing her arms. "You know that entering the forest is against the rules, I mean seri-."_

_"Siriusly?" Sirius rolled his eyes, taking a step in. "Never heard that one before."_

_Ashley grabbed his sleeve, pulling him back. "No! We are not going in there! We could get lost for the rest of eternity, or be kidnapped by a pack of wild trolls, or worse. We could get expelled."_

_Sirius chuckled, leaning against the fence. His hand flinched as a loose strand of hair fell in front of Ashley's eyes, a want to reach out and brush it away flashing through him. "That's why I like you. You deem kidnapping by trolls less horrifying then expulsion."_

_Ashley shrugged him off, spinning on her heels and walking away. "Let's go."_

_Sirius chuckled darkly, watching her leave. "You're scared?"_

_She froze as lightning flashed over them. "Excuse me?"_

_"I understand." He continued. "What can one do but succumb to their petty fears?"_

_She flipped around, ditching the basket in the tall grass. "I'm not afraid!"_

_Sirius stretched. "Whatever you say. I'll just lock up the big scawy fowest sow no one huwts us."_

_"You think I'm uptight, don't you?" Ashley accused, pushing Sirius through the gate. She followed him through, muttering under her breath. "'Petty fears'." She whipped out her wand and pointed it at the gate. "Arrogant sun of a-."_

_"I believe the spell you're looking for is 'Colloportus'."_

_"COLLOPORTUS!" Ashley yelled, sending the gate slamming shut behind them. Rust exploded from the old hinges as she turned around, straightening out her sweater._

_"I believe that is what one would call 'Striking a nerve'." He tapped her nose with his finger, amused with her sudden outburst._

_"Ten minutes." Ashley replied evenly. "That's it. After that I get Professor Slughorn."_

_Sirius grinned victoriously. "Your unpredictability is an extremely attractive trait."_

_She sighed, rolling her eyes. "You're so full of it."_

_They walked through the forest silently, the only sounds coming from twigs snapping under their feet. As the trees grew thicker so did a misty fog, blanketing the forest in darkness. Ashley followed Sirius's footsteps, a chill running down her spine each time thunder clapped above them. In any other situation she would have gone straight back to the garden-actually, she would have never gone into the forest period-but there was something about Sirius that made her want to… to prove herself. Show him that she wasn't the unadventurous, scared little girl he made her out to be. Needless to say, ten minutes came and went and they were still wandering the forest, intrigued with the hidden secrets locked within._

_"They say this forest is haunted." Sirius said suddenly, putting his hands in his pockets._

_Ashley hugged her sweater tightly around her, looking around curiously. "I thought everything at Hogwarts was haunted."_

_"It is." He leaned down, speaking quietly into her ear. "But not with dark magic."_

_Ashley fought the urge to pause, his breath tickling her cheek and sending a chill down her spine. "What do you mean?"_

_"Well, technically speaking, this forest isn't protected by the ministry of magic. They try their best, but it's a common place for…cracks."_

_"How reassuring." Ashley mumbled, sarcasm masking the twist of her stomach._

_"This place is powerful." Sirius shrugged, kicking a loose stone out of their way. "I mean, some people would kill for a drop of unicorn blood."_

_Ashley reached out, her fingers brushing his jeans belt as she stopped him. "Maybe we should go back."_

_He cocked an eyebrow. "Scared?"_

_"No…I… I'm just…" She gulped, looking up as a drop of rain splashed against her cheek. "Cautious."_

_"Pluck up some courage, Ash." Sirius took a step towards her, letting his finger mindlessly trace down her arm. It left a line of heat, like little sparks were trapped under her skin. "Gryffindor's are supposed to be brave."_

_"So I've been told." She was immediately aware of how close they were standing, not liking the way it made her heart flutter. His grey eyes traced over her thoughtfully, and she couldn't help but hope he liked what he saw. It was stupid, really. But in an odd way-_

_"WHO GOES THERE!"_

_Ashley froze, eyes wide. They were caught. They were going to be expelled. They would snap her wand. Obliviate her into invisibility. Of course they were caught-the gate was probably charmed to tell the headmaster if someone had opened it. Ashley squeezed her eyes shut, slowly turning around to face their captor. "I'm sor-."_

_Sirius grabbed her wrist in an iron grip, silencing her. His eyes remained fixed on a point just past her shoulder, eyes squinting as he looked into the darkness. His lips barely moved as he spoke, voice so low she had to strain to hear it. "How familiar are you with mystical creatures?"_

_"What!" She hissed, her back stiffening._

_"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE, HUMANS." Roared the creature_

_"Excellent." Sirius continued, ignoring the beast. "Then you'll know that Centaurs are very proud and dislike others invading their territories, and passionately pursue discarding those who do so. How good are you with that wand?"_

_"What are you saying!" Ashley demanded, working to keep her voice quiet._

_The centaur snarled, its hoofs pawing at the ground._

_"Remember, there are no rules in the real world." Sirius's eyes darted down to Ashley's. "Ready?"_

_"No! Sirius-."_

_"Now!" He jumped around Ashley, flinging his wand out. "STUPIFY!"_

_The centaur jumped over the point Sirius had aimed at, his spell uselessly hitting the tree. Landing, it yanked out an arrow and aimed it._

_"REDUCTO!" Sirius sent the arrow flying out of the Centaurs bow and into the grass. Enraged, the centaur charged them. "SPLIT UP!" Sirius yelled, running the opposite way of Ashley._

_Diving behind a tree she untangled her wand from her boots, peeking around its trunk in time to see the Centaur bring his bow down on Sirius's head with a loud crack. Sirius fell forward, his wand flying into the trees._

_"AVIS!" Ashley yelled, trying to divert the Centaurs attention while Sirius scrambled for his wand. Blackbirds began pouring out of her wand, the force knocking her onto her back._

_They swarmed at the centaur and he turned around, swatting them out of the air like flies. Zeroing in on Ashley as she struggled to sit up, the Centaur pulled out another arrow. Eyes burning with hate it galloped towards her, releasing the weapon._

_Ashley rolled out of the way, the arrow whizzing dangerously close to her ear. She stood on shaky knees, jumping out from behind the tree with her wand pointed. "INCENDIO!"_

_A ring of fire erupted from her wand, making the Centaur rear up into the air. The flames disappeared as it came back down, its front hoof knocking Ashley onto her back. It sneered, standing over her._

_Trying to ignore the looming beast, she focused all her attention on stretching out her arm as far as she could. Her wand sat just inches away, taunting her. A small bead of sweat dripped down her cheek as her fingers desperately clasped at thin air-_

_Noticing what she was trying to do the centaur growled, kicking her wand out of the way and bringing its hoof down hard on Ashley's forearm. With a snap the bone broke, forcing a cry of pain off her lips._

_The centaur reached back and grabbed another arrow. "You were warned about this forest."_

_"Sirius!" She screamed. Eyes wild with fear she searched for something to defend herself with. "Please, don't, I-."_

_"Too late." The centaur aimed the bow, eyes squinting._

_"NO!" Suddenly Sirius was in front of her, wand thrust protectively against the Centaur. "GET AWAY FROM HER!"_

_The Centaur took a small step back, face turning red with anger. "You should know better then to trespass-."_

_"I SAID GET AWAY!" Sirius repeated, pushing the Centaur back another step._

_The Centaur had its arrow aimed at Sirius's head, his eyes softening slightly. With the flip of a switch his voice became quiet, uncertain. "With the flinch of my finger I could kill you, and yet you still stand between me and the girl."_

_"Obviously!" Sirius growled, losing his patience._

_"You would…" The Centaur's bow faltered an inch, his gaze becoming less hostile. "You would…defend her."_

_Sirius glanced back at Ashley quickly, eyes steady. "Always."_

_"Then you can understand how I feel towards protecting my peoples territory." It sighed. "Put down your wand, wizard, and I too shall swallow my pride."_

_Sirius shook his head. "Like hell."_

_"Very well, then." The Centaur lowered his bow cautiously. "I will leave in peace, but this will be your only exemption. If you are found wandering these trees again neither my brothers nor I shall extend the courtesy again."_

_And with that it galloped away, disappearing quickly in the thick fog and trees._

_Sirius didn't move, eyes sweeping the trees suspiciously. Trying to stand Ashley pushed herself up with her good hand, her other arm dangling at her side. She winced as a piercing pain shot up her arm, collapsing back onto the ground._

_Hearing her cry Sirius dropped his wand and turned around, kneeling in front of her. "Are you okay? What happened? What did he do?"_

_"I'm fine." Embarrassed, Ashley went to push the hair stuck to her face out of the way. The pain immediately coursed through her again, her arm screaming in protest of the action. "Owie."_

_Sirius's lips pulled up sympathetically, his strong hands handling her arm delicately. "It feels broken. Can you touch your finger to your nose?"_

_She tried, immediately regretting the attempt. A quiet cry escaped her throat, her eyes burning with tears._

_"Hey…" Sirius said softly, brushing the hair out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. He let his hand linger there, his other resting on her knee and rubbing it soothingly. "We'll go get it checked out right away, okay?"_

_Ashley nodded, still shaky from the attack. She took a steadying breath, holding on to his eyes. "Thank you. For everything."_

_He shrugged. "It was no problem-."_

_"No, Sirius." She cut him off, feeling her cheeks turn pink as she spoke. "You saved my life. Most people would have run but you…you could have been killed but you…you stayed."_

_He chuckled, looking up at her from under dark eyelashes. "Well you wouldn't be any use to me dead now, would you?"_

_Her brow crinkled, her nose wrinkling. "What do you mean?"_

_"If you were dead…" Voice quiet and rough he leaned in closer to her. "I couldn't do this…"_

_His lips brushed against hers, soft and hesitant. Suddenly one of his hands was on her waist, pulling her in closer, while the other cradled her cheek. He pulled back a little, eyes searching hers for a sign that she was okay with what he was doing._

_She caught her breath, her good hand hanging onto the front of his sweater. "That would be a shame, wouldn't it?"_

_He grinned, pulling her back to him. His hand laced through her hair as his lips crashed against hers, all his earlier hesitation disappearing. She felt his hard stomach contract under her touch as she bunched his sweater in her hand, returning the kiss._

_She couldn't help but grin as he pulled back to look at her, his smile dazzling. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that…"_

_"In the forbidden forest." Ashley looked down at their hands as he intertwined them. "How romantic."_

_His laugh was a melody of notes as he squeezed her hand once, leaning back in and kissing her again. And they all lived happily ever after, the end._

_ _


End file.
